RoadTest: Experiment with Blockchain Tech
Author: ankur608
Creation date:
Evaluation Type: Passives
Did you receive all parts the manufacturer stated would be included in the package?: True
What other parts do you consider comparable to this product?: Hardware based IOTA wallets(Trinity and others) may compete with Infineon's BS2G. ...the only difference between the duo is One is Blockchainless and other is based on pure Blockchain.
What were the biggest problems encountered?: As far as I thought of interacting it with Nexperia's PN532 built over ArduinoMEGA & ACR122x based NFC_Readers, each and every moment proved to be worthless, hence the product proves itself : 'Security2Go'
Detailed Review:
Thanks Element14 + Infineon + Daniel & Randall, for selecting me to participate in my first RoadTest.
Blockchain can be described as a data structure that holds transactional-records and while ensuring security, transparency, and decentralization. Think of it as a chain or records stored in the forms of blocks which are controlled by no single authority.
Speculation on the value of blockchain is rife, with Bitcoin—the first and most infamous application of blockchain—grabbing headlines for its rocketing price and volatility. That the focus of blockchain is wrapped up with Bitcoin is not surprising given that its market value surged from less than $20 billion to more than $200 billion over the course of 2017. Yet Bitcoin is only the first application of blockchain technology that has captured the attention of government and industry. World Economic Forum survey suggested that 10 percent of global GDP will be stored on blockchain by 2027. Multiple governments have published reports on the potential implications of blockchain, and the past two years alone have seen more than half a million new publications on and 3.7 million Google search results for one and only blockchain.
Most tellingly, large investments in blockchain are being made. Venture-capital funding for blockchain start-ups consistently grew and were up to $1 billion in 2017. The blockchain-specific investment model of initial coin offerings (ICOs), the sale of cryptocurrency tokens in a new venture, has skyrocketed to $5 billion. Leading technology players are also heavily investing in blockchain: IBM has more than 1,000 staff and $200 million invested in the blockchain-powered Internet of Things (b-IoT).
Despite the hype, blockchain is still an immature technology, with a market that is still nascent and a clear recipe for success that has not yet emerged. Unstructured experimentation of blockchain solutions without strategic evaluation of the value at stake or the feasibility of capturing it means that many companies will not see a return on their investments. With this in mind, how can companies determine if there is strategic value in blockchain that justifies major investments?
Davos analysis suggests the following three key insights on the strategic value of blockchain:
Blockchain does not have to be a disintermediator to generate value, a fact that encourages permissioned commercial applications.
Blockchain Security 2Go starter kit:
Storing the blockchain user credentials on a computer or a cellphone is extremely risky as an attacker may identify and read out the confidential information. This could even be done remotely – through software attacks. Security can be enhanced by integrating a dedicated Hardware Security Module (HSM) into the device microcontroller. This separates critical operations and credential storage from other software operations and therefore provides robust protection against software attacks. The highest possible security level can be achieved with a dedicated security controller for critical operations and credential storage. This security controller has additional countermeasures to protect against physical attacks. Infineon’s Blockchain Security 2Go starter kit provides a fast and easy way to build best-in-class security into the blockchain system design.
The Android application available on the play store is developed by Coinfinity GmbH and demonstrates an application example for the Blockchain Security 2Go starter kit V1.0 in combination with an NFC-capable Android smart phone. The head-start example application interacts with the Blockchain Security 2Go starter kit via NFC and the Ethereum blockchain. The following three signing examples are demonstrated:
-sending and receiving Ethereum tokens (ETH)
-sending and receiving ERC-20 tokens
-Interacting with an example smart contract (based on a voting demonstration) deployed on the Ethereum blockchain.
The Coinfinity Android app communicates with the card via NFC to generate new private/public keys, further read the public keys and then only sign the transactions. To interact with the Ethereum blockchain, the Web3j library is then used to build transactions. Broadcasting of transactions to the Ethereum network is done via the infura.io API. The conversion of ETH balance to EUR is done via Coinfinity rate API which is further displayed inside the app. To be able to use the QR code's scanning and displaying functionality, the app expects the QR code scanner to be pre-installed from the app-store.
...the source code for android app development can be found at https://github.com/Infineon/BlockchainSecurity2Go-Android
The PN532 is a highly integrated transceiver module for contactless communication at 13.56 MHz based on the 80C51 microcontroller core. It supports 6 different operating modes: • ISO/IEC 14443A/MIFARE Reader/Writer • FeliCa Reader/Writer • ISO/IEC 14443B Reader/Writer • ISO/IEC 14443A/MIFARE Card MIFARE Classic 1K or MIFARE Classic 4K card emulation mode • FeliCa Card emulation • ISO/IEC 18092, ECMA 340 Peer-to-Peer The PN532 implements a demodulator and decoder for signals from ISO/IEC 14443A/MIFARE compatible cards and transponders. The PN532 handles the complete ISO/IEC 14443A framing and error detection (Parity & CRC). The PN532 supports MIFARE Classic 1K or MIFARE Classic 4K card emulation mode. The PN532 supports contactless communication using MIFARE Higher transfer speeds up to 424 kbit/s in both directions. The PN532 can demodulate and decode FeliCa coded signals. The PN532 handles the FeliCa framing and error detection. The PN532 supports contactless communication using FeliCa Higher transfer speeds up to 424 kbit/s in both directions. The PN532 supports layers 2 and 3 of the ISO/IEC 14443 B Reader/Writer communication scheme, except anticollision. This must be implemented in firmware as well as upper layers.
PN532 NFC Chipset attached to (a) Arduino Mega, (b) RPi3B+; through HSU mode ; lying with 2 Infineon Cards and an ordinary MiFare Classic Card
- Officially supported blockchains: Bitcoin, Ethereum & Streamr ; not possible for IOTA , may work for Libra or Monero
Meanwhile, exploring through internet for potential applications of INFINEON's Blockchain Security 2 Go; I did find the famous "Ka God, ka Musi" aka " No money, no music" https://github.com/lab10-coop/kgkm-nfc as well as BeerDentity; the winner of Infineon Hackathon-19 found at https://github.com/rekt0x/infineon_hackathon_2019 , demonstrated some serious use cases of this highly promising technology.
Finally, I also would like to build some embedded application through Raspberry Pi utilizing this kit, I think there are potential applications of this technology in the field of Healthcare. Thats it...
Once again, thanks Element14 and Infineon for your kind support and patience for this roadtest. I hope for your feedback and kind review.
Top Comments
Have you run any long term message read/write cycles to see how well the algorithm holds up over long term use?
Have you tried any break in algorithms to verify that the system is secure?
What practical…
ankur608 I have an interest in this technology. But I wonder if the blockchains need to be "mined" to keep them healthy?
Hi DAB, I believe in the fundamentals of BlockChain and Blockchainless Technology, where the final system is highly secure and impenetrable, talking about financial-system; the current system is centralised…